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Could retractible testicle be an indicator for developing inguinal hernia?
I believe I was born with a weak abdominal wall on the right side. When I was in my teens (I am in my 30s now), I was able to push my right testicle into my groin. I mean literally, I would push it back in with my hands and it would pop right back. I don’t recall how I discovered this “talent” of mine. It didn’t hurt at all, it was just this really “cool” ability I discovered and I would play with it sometimes. I wish I knew better back then. Maybe if I had told someone about this hidden talent and seen a doctor about it I might have been better informed about hernias and how to prevent them.
I believe this is termed “retractile testicle”? I call it “retractable”. From what I understand these boys have a testicle that retracts or “ascends” (crawls back up into the groin) on their own. Mine were always out or “descended” and residing in the scrotum. But I had this weak spot where I could manually push my right testicle back up into the groin. It was stupid of me to play with it like that. With boys, the testicles descend from the groin down into the scrotum as they grow and mature. It is generally agreed among doctors that inguinal hernias in men are commonly caused by weak spots in these areas because of the way that boys become men.
I’m curious if there are any studies out there that suggest that boys who had these problems with their testicles eventually develop inguinal hernias? If there is data that supports this idea, then catching these problems early on and informing the patients and their parents about the risks of hernias would give them the tools they need to prevent it.
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2 Replies
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Dr. Towfigh actually just posted on Twitter three days ago that ‘a high riding or undescended testicle is almost always associated with an inguinal hernia’. So I would say yes.
For me, I actually have this occasionally in certain positions under certain circumstances, but I believe it only started after vasectomy. [USER=”935″]drtowfigh[/USER]
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I never got around to thank you for your reply. It confirmed my suspicion. So for what it’s worth, here I am, 6 years later. Thank you!
I went back in time to find the Twitter post you mentioned:
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